


Merlin, These Boys are Idiots 3: Post-Azkaban + Lie Low at Lupin's Remix

by gabriellelupin_black



Series: Wolfstar: Through The Ages [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Azkaban, F/M, Get Together, Lie Low At Lupin's (Harry Potter), M/M, Post-Sirius Black in Azkaban, reunited, sirius black on the run
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:47:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26607712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gabriellelupin_black/pseuds/gabriellelupin_black
Summary: Sirius Black has escaped Azkaban, and goes on the run for a year. Finally, Dumbledore sends him to live with Remus.All the feelings are still there, but how do they make up for lost time?Comments and kudos are welcomed and appreciated :)
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Series: Wolfstar: Through The Ages [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1829482
Comments: 10
Kudos: 47





	1. Sirius: Back at Hogwarts

**Author's Note:**

> HI GUYS!!  
> To my readers from my past fics, thank you so much for continuing to read my fics! And to new readers, there are two fics already in this series if you want to check them out, but this can be read by itself. I'll update a few times a week, as much as I possibly can!  
> I'll keep sharing random parts of my life in end notes, so, enjoy I guess.
> 
> I hope you like this first chapter as much as I do!

Sirius picked up a loose rock from the floor of his cell. He brought it up to the wall and scratched another line onto the stone. HE hadn’t bothered to count the lines recently, because he was too tired, and realising just how long he had been in Azkaban made him feel even more shit, if that was possible. The only reason he kept count was because the promise of putting another line on the wall was one of the only things that helped him sleep at night. It was an activity, his only activity, sure, but still an activity. Although he had lost count in his mind, and everyday just seemed like another rise and set of the sun, the tallies assured him that it had been twelve years, or so. Twelve years to Sirius wasn’t just twelve years in Azkaban. It was Harry turning thirteen. It was Peter wreaking havoc on society. It was Voldemort, from what he had gathered from the whispered of his cellmates and from what he heard in the hours before he’d been taken away, disappearing. He had helped put away over half of the people in this fucking prison, and they all wept daily because their ‘master’ was gone. Sirius knew Voldemort wasn’t gone, and it was only a matter of time before he would come back, but as hard as he had tried to think of one there was literally no way that he cold help. Twelve years was more than twelve years in Azkaban. It was one hundred and forty three full moons, so far, that Remus had spent alone. Sirius knew that Remus wouldn’t have gone back to the pack, so it was one hundred and forty three full moons that Remus had spent chaining himself up, and torturing himself. Sirius logically didn’t even know if Remus was alive. He didn’t know if Remus still trusted him, if he still loved him. He wouldn’t love a mass murderer, and he wouldn’t expect Remus to, either. And a mass murderer Remus thought he was, because there was damning evidence against Sirius, whether he liked it or not. The ministry hadn’t given Sirius a trial. He’d been treated like any other death eater, thrown into Azkaban without checking his wand, or using his memories in a pensieve, or giving him even a moment to explain. But the world was so consumed with the disappearance of Voldemort that locking Sirius up immediately made it far easier to celebrate. He never even got to say goodbye.  
The first few years he had been determined to escape. Usually prisoners lost their minds after the first month because of the dementors, but Sirius was sane as he had ever been. Angry, yes, lonely, yes, unbelievably depressed, yes, but he was still Sirius. He knew who he was. There were reasons for that. The dementors couldn’t drive him mad because he KNEW that he was innocent. He knew that he hadn’t done what he had been accused of, so he couldn’t drive himself mad with guilt about it. And there were some things that the dementors couldn’t take from him. They could take away the thought that anyone he left behind still loved him, or even remembered him, or thought about him in general. But they couldn’t take away facts, and it was a fact that he loved Harry, and it was a fact that he loved Remus. It was a fact that he was furious with Dumbledore, and it was a fact that Peter was going to get what was coming to him, because If Lily Potter had taught Sirius one thing it was that if you do something horrible in this life, something horrible will happen to you.There were days when the dementors had Sirius convinced that this was just his punishment for all the stupid things he had done in school. Stuff like abandoning Remus, and ignoring his feelings. But there were also days where Sirius realised that Azkaban was not suitable punishment for abandoning Remus on a full moon, because it meant that Remus was alone for every full moon since Sirius left.

That night was a full moon. Sirius would sit in his cell the nights of the moons and stare at the sky. He swore he could hear Moony howling. He spent a lot of his time as Padfoot, but not during the moons. He would drive himself crazy, trying to find his packmate, so he settled for staring at the sky and hoping that somehow Moony would know that Padfoot loved him. Impossible, yes, but it was something that the dementors couldn’t take away. That night he heard footsteps, real, human footsteps, walking outside his cell. He felt a happiness that he hadn’t in years wash over him, and he noticed that the people walking had a patronus, a dove, floating over them as they passed. Eventually the glow faded, and he returned to his misery, staring at the moon.  
The people walked back, a Half hour later, and Sirius saw one of them holding a newspaper. There was a picture on the front page. Sirius immediately realised that Gideon and Fabian’s sister was standing, beside what must be her many children and her husband, waving at the camera. There was a boy, who must be Harry’s age, in the foreground of the photo. Knowing the Prewetts, the kids would be in Gryffindor, and knowing James and Lily Potter, Harry would be in Gryffindor, too. The young boy with red hair was holding a very, very familiar rat.

A lot of thoughts rushed through Sirius’ head. If Peter had taken to a wizarding family, and that boy had him at Hogwarts, and he was in Harry’s dormitory, then Harry was exposed to Peter.  
“Can I have that newspaper?” Sirius asked the man passing his cell. His own voice was so unfamiliar to him. He was surprised he even remembered how to speak, because he realised that those were the first words he had spoken in at least five years.“What?” The man asked, taken aback at someone in a cell speaking to him so calmly.  
“I asked if I could have that newspaper. I miss the crossword, you see,” Sirius said cooly, doing his best not to sound like a total raging lunatic. People don’t give newspapers to total raging lunatics.  
The man seemed to take a while to consider the request, but the woman who must have been his wife tugged on his arm and whispered something about not liking the dementors, so eventually the man took pity on Sirius and gave in. “Uh, sure,” he said, tossing the newspaper through the bars on Sirius’ cell, careful not to get too close.  
“Thank you,” Sirius said politely, while the man and woman shuffled away.  
He examined that paper for hours, and after noticing that the rat was missing a toe, he knew what he had to do. He had to get to Harry, like, now.

It took about a week without eating before Sirius could transform into Padfoot and be skinny enough to fit through the bars. That week he pushed all of his food barely outside his cell, so that he could eat before the long journey back to land. He was a better swimmer as a dog. The day came where Sirius transformed into Padfoot and squeezed through the bars, wolfing down the food quickly, not allowing himself to celebrate. He wouldn’t celebrate until he was on land, until he had saved Harry. He bolted past the dementors silently, and they didn’t seem to pick up on his emotions at all. He came to the entrance of the prison and jumped off the dock where the boats rarely moored, and began paddling towards shore. He came very close to giving up and letting the ocean take him, but in those moments he thought of Harry and persevered.  
When he reached shore, he padded around for a while, trying to find some food. He cut his leg stepping on some glass, and moped around for a while until he could turn back into a human. A lady found him, and took the dog in for a week or so, while she unknowingly nursed human Sirius back to health. Eventually, he left her house, and started the journey to England.

He couldn’t resist seeing Harry, just once, before he figured this whole thing out. He saw him through the bushes one night when Harry had seemingly run away, and he feared he had scared the life out of Harry, because without context, Padfoot just looked like a massive, incredibly aggressive monstrous dog.  
He decided at that point to start the long journey to Scotland.

———————————————————

Sirius snuck into Hogwarts through the Forbidden Forest. He didn’t much like it there, but many of the creatures were familiar with Padfoot, so they let him pass without question. He had a bit of a dust-up with a big-ass spider, but managed to out run it fairly easily. Strangely, a rogue blue car seemed to be helping him. It ran over the spider and also let Padfoot get in, and drove him away from some angry centaurs to the edge of the forest, ejecting him quite violently behind Hagrid’s cabin.  
There was some raw meat roasting on a spit that Hagrid was clearly planning on feeding some of the animals he looked after. Sirius managed to get a chunk off without singeing his fur too badly. He almost felt guilty for taking it. Almost.  
Padfoot roamed around the grounds for the next few days, trying to figure out how best to go about the whole “Harry don’t run away I’m not a mass murdererand I didn’t betray your parents the rat actually did and I’m actually your godfather, I have pictures of me holding you as a baby and I was best man at your parents wedding” conversation without alerting the entire castle to his presence. 

It seemed Hermione had a cat called Crookshanks who figured out quite quickly that Sirius was not an ordinary dog. The cat managed to get the passwords to Gryffindor tower, and late one night Sirius snuck in. He decided to kill Peter first, and then to explain everything to Harry. Crookshanks informed Padfoot that Harry and Ron (who would’ve been the Prewett’s nephew, he thought sadly) shared a dormitory and that ’Scabbers’ (the name given to Peter. Wormtail was so much better, but a shit rat deserves a shit name, so Scabbbers was quite fitting) usually slept on Ron’s bed. He entered the tower and unfortunately Ron woke up just as Sirius was standing over his bed with a knife. At that point he bolted, and upon thinking back realised that it was a very ill thought out plan, and he would have to figure something else out.  
On the way out of Hogwarts, Sirius, as Padfoot, decided to hide in a passage that only the Marauders knew about. Peter wouldn’t dare go after him, so it was a safe bet that no one would see him. While the students were herded into the Great Hall and teachers began searching the castle, Padfoot had to do quite a lot of tactical hiding so that a large black dog wasn’t seen wandering the castle, because although the teachers didn’t know that Sirius was an animagus, the sight of a large dog padding around would’ve been almost more disconcerting than seeing Sirius himself.

Then something happened that changed Sirius’ life. Remus, in teacher’s robes, was wandering the hall where the One-Eyed Witch statue resided. Sirius’ thoughts were quite jumbled at the sight, but the general gist was why the fuck is Remus at Hogwarts and holy shit is Remus finally a teacher I am so proud of him what the actual fuck. Unfortunately, none of these thoughts were particularly helpful at that point because Remus still thought that he was a mass murderer, and he was also getting very close to the tapestry that Padfoot was hiding behind, somewhere that Remus would definitely check, because that is where he himself hid countless times during school. Sirius, in a manoeuvre that was incredibly impressive if he did say so himself, waited for Remus to check behind the tapestry before doubling around behind him and hiding behind a suite of armour. This was the only suit of armour that didn’t talk, because the Marauders replaced it with a muggle suit of armour back in school. (They needed the wizarding one for a prank. It was necessary, they swear).  
The one problem was that the tapestry swayed slightly when he ran past it, and Remus whipped around. Sirius had hidden just in time, but he heard Remus whisper to himself.  
“You’re just being stupid, Remus. He didn’t come back for you. He didn’t know you were here. It’s been twelve years, of course he’s forgotten about you. You’re just seeing things. Stop wishing for stupid shit, you’re acting like a twelve year old.”Sirius’ heart seemed to break all over again. He did come back for him. Well, he came back for Harry. But he didn’t know Remus wanted to see him! He thought he would hate him, after all this time. But he didn’t hate him. He wanted to see him! And they were completely alone, in a whole different part of the tower. Sirius was just about at the statue of the One-Eyed Witch when he peeked over to see Remus, stood leaning against a wall, one hand crossed, and his other rubbing his temples. He was so beautiful. Just how he had remembered him, if not more beautiful than he was before. He was about to transform, so that he could go over and finally see the love of his life… and then he heard voices.  
For fuck’s sake! He’s been wrongfully imprisoned for twelve years! Can’t he catch a break?! And to really twist the knife, he heard who the voices came from.

“Professor, don’t you think it’s… unwise, to have Lupin in the castle? Don’t you think that he could be the one who let Black in?” said the drawling voice of Severus Snape.  
“Severus, I implicitly trust every member of my staff,” another familiar voice said. One he liked much more, but one who abandoned him nevertheless. Dumbledore did trust Remus, and Sirius was glad that he was standing up to Snape. But Snape? Why was he here? He was a death eater who tried to kill them all!  
“Forgive me Albus, but Black does not know that I was a spy for The Order. It is MY safety that is in danger here!”  
Dumbledore audibly scoffed. “Severus, selfishness is not an attractive quality, and it is not a quality that I like Professors to possess,” he finished passively.  
“Respectfully, are you sure you are the best judge of Black’s intentions? He was one of your most trusted soldiers in the war,” Snape said bitterly.The footsteps stopped as Dumbledore said “Just because you start a sentence with ‘respectfully’ it does not mean that the words you say are respectful.”  
Sirius stifled a laugh as the footsteps continued. As they passed the One-Eyed Witch, Dumbledore stopped in his tracks and Sirius held his breath.  
“What is it?” Snape asked, so obviously hoping that there was a chance Sirius had been caught.  
“I just thought I heard something, that’s all. Breathing,” he added, clearly trying to somewhat satisfy Snape’s curiosity.  
“Just me, just me,” Remus said from the other end of the hall. Remus knew that Sirius was here, and even all these years later he was still saving his arse.  
“Ah, Remus. Just the man I was looking for,” Dumbledore said. Sirius could hear his smile.  
“He was?” Snape asked. “You didn’t say that.”  
“I don’t tell you everything, Severus,” Dumbledore said calmly. Sirius could almost hear Remus trying to suppress a smile at that. “No one here, Remus?”  
“No one, Albus. I’ve checked everywhere.” Remus replied.  
“Everywhere?” Snape said satirically.  
“Wonderful, Remus,” Dumbledore relied, ignoring Snape’s comment. “Could you and Severus check the dungeons next?”  
“Absolutely,” Remus said serenely, at the same time as Snape said “Must I?”  
“Perfect,” Dumbledore said, clapping his hands together, ignoring Snape yet again. “If you could meet me in The Great Hall when you have searched?”  
“Of course, Sir,” Remus replied.  
“Albus, don’t you think someone with less… bias should check this level again?” Snape drawled.  
“I don’t know. Remus, do you think you’ve done a sufficient search?” Dumbledore asked.  
“Absolutely, Professor. No one here.” Remus replied, a smile in his tone.“Then, no, Severus, I think this level is clear. If you could show Remus the shortcut to the dungeons, then?”  
Snape scoffed. “I’m sure he can go himself. Him and Black used to know all the passaged back at school.” “Yes!” Dumbledore exclaimed. “That’s very true, which is why we are so lucky to have Remus here, checking all the nooks and crannies!”  
Sirius smiled to himself. Dumbledore knew that he was torturing Snape by not letting him re-check the level AND my making him show Remus the way that he already knows about to get into the dungeon, and Sirius was sure that Dumbledore was enjoying every second.  
“We should get going, then?” Remus asked cooly.  
“Fine. I’ll take you,” Snape said sharply, whooshing off so that Sirius could hear the gush beneath his robes.  
“Fantastic. Thank you for all your help, Remus,” Dumbledore said happily. The two’s footsteps disappeared and Sirius relaxed.  
A moment later, Dumbledore chuckled.

————————————————————

A few days later when the tales of Sirius Black’s break-in had died down, Sirius returned, as Padfoot, to the main grounds of the school. He climbed up to the top of the Quidditch Pitch. He knew that this was unwise, but he wanted to see if Harry could fly like his father. He wasn’t disappointed. As soon as Harry saw Padfoot, he became scared out of his mind and started flying higher and higher to find the snitch, and probably to also get away from Sirius, and a few minutes later, Sirius saw Harry falling to the ground. Dumbledore significantly softened the blow, but it was still a horrible sight. Harry’s broom was broken, too. He’d get him a new one, after he figured the all out. Dementors are bastards, Sirius knew that much, but Harry? He bolted off the pitch before everyone got up and left to decide exactly how he was going to get Harry, Scabbers and Remus all in one room without scaring the life out of all of them.

———————————————————

A week later, Padfoot was skulking around the grounds, when he saw Harry, Ron and Hermione walking around at dusk. Crookshanks had informed Sirius that Hermione knew that Remus was a werewolf, but hadn’t told the others. She had been actively trying to get the boys away from the shack, presumably because she knew Remus would come to transform.  
Sirius did something that upon reflection was very selfish, and tried to snatch Peter out of Ron’s grip, but in the process accidentally grabbed Ron. He was so close, he remembered thinking, and it would all be worth it, so he pulled Ron by the (probably already broken anyway) legend pulled hm through the tunnel to the shack. Harry and Hermione were following, he could hear them, but he shifted back not a human and faced Ron anyway. He felt bad for scaring the kid, but had no idea how to explain. He hadn’t thought this far ahead. All he knew was that Peter was right n front of him, and he’d imagined this moment for twelve years, since Halloween, 1981.  
He briefly turned in to Ron yelling that Padfoot was actually Sirius, and then he registered that Harry and Ron were in the room. He was actually with Harry, in human form, and the boy was so scarred of him, so angry at him, when Sirius had never done anything except fiercely protect James and Lily. It felt unfair, horribly unfair, that this boy had never known his parents. Sirius would give anything to allow that boy to grow up with his mum and dad.  
There was a lot of yelling, and then Sirius was pushed up against the wall, Harry’s wand pressed against his temple.  
Then it finally happened.  
Harry’s wand flew out of his hand.  
Remus had burst into the room.

It felt like time slowed down as he looked at Remus. It felt cruel that he hadn’t been able to look at that beautiful face, to be with that beautiful man, for twelve years. And it felt worse knowing that Remus was here, still suspicious that Sirius was a traitor. Then Remus stepped forward, and Sirius did too. Then they engulfed each other in a hug, a hug that felt electric against Sirius’ skin.  
There were words exchanged that Sirius can’t quite recall, but they apologised for ever suspecting each other.  
A lot happened after that. Sirius had a chance to explain, and Harry seriously believed him. Snape burst in to the room at some point, but Harry, Ron and Hermione hit him wth spells at the same time, forcing Snape to fly backwards and pass out. Harry really was James’ son.  
They turned Peter back into a human, and Harry finally understood the whole story. He forgave Sirius, and he said that he was sorry for ever doubting him. It was understandable, Sirius assured him, for Harry to doubt Sirius. There was damning evidence against him, and there had been since James and Lily died. They ended up leaving the shack, Snape floating eerily, Peter essentially tied to Remus and Sirius supporting Ron. They got to the end of the tunnel, and Sirius offered for Harry to come and live with him, once his name was cleared. He loved Harry, he was his godfather, it made sense to at least offer. Harry, shockingly, seemed to love the idea. Everything felt like it would be alright.  
Then the moon rose, and Remus started to turn. Sirius shook him, and tried to remind him that he was Remus, not the wolf. Then it seemed that all was lost for human Remus, so Sirius shifted, hoping that Moony would recognise Padfoot and calm down. But apparently Moony was angry at Padfoot for leaving him, and they fought like the wolf and the dog never had before. Padfoot tried everything, but none of the usual tricks calmed Moony down. A howl came from the distance, and Moony bolted. Padfoot had to follow him, he had to keep the children safe.

But then he realised that he had turned back into a human without noticing, and the further towards the edge of the grounds he got, the more he could feel the dementors presence. He reached a lake, and had lost track of Moony, and he just collapsed. He couldn’t help it. He briefly registered Harry trying to wake him, but the dementors were swarming, and started to give him the kiss. There was the cry of someone casting a patronus, but Sirius passed out. Harry probably did, too.  
Next thing he knew, Sirius was in a cell at the top of a Hogwarts tower.


	2. Sirius: The Year Abroad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sirius escapes Hogwarts, spends a year in the Galapagos Islands, stays in Hogsmeade, and is on the brink of seeing Remus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot happens in this chapter, but I hope you love it as much as I do :)

He was probably there for an hour or two. Sirius hated being in that cell. It reminded him of the prison he had so recently escaped. The worst part was that this time there were people who wanted to rescue him, but couldn’t, because one was still a werewolf and the other was recovering from a near death experience with a dementor, and Harry didn’t even know where Sirius was being held. Fucking Snape, always getting in the way. This was probably the first time the git had felt good about himself since his days as Voldemort’s pet, Sirius thought. Still a git.

The cell was nicer than his in Azkaban. Cleaner, but only marginally. Sirius thought that it probably wasn’t nicer, but all his time in prison, he’d gotten to know his cell pretty well, and the fact that this cell clearly wasn’t Azkaban made it nicer by default. 

He’d just started getting lost in his thoughts again when there was a mighty crash coming from outside the cell, and the window burst apart. Sirius looked at the empty door way and saw his godson, looking pretty proud of himself. It didn’t make sense, really, because Harry should be in tthe hospital wing…  
“Harry! Why aren’t you in the hospital wing?” Sirius asked, almost like a concerned parent.  
“Sirius! We’re time travelling! Hermione has a time turner and we came back-“  
“Would you two stop it!” A voice came from beside Harry. Hermione, who Sirius already liked due tto Crookshanks’ fond descriptions, was there. “We have literally NO time for this! Time is quite literally running out!”  
Harry looked back at Hermione and subtly rolled his eyes. Exactly the same way that Sirius used to roll his eyes at Lily. I guess Ron was James in this scenario, which according to Crookshanks, made an awful lot of sense. Ron however was nowhere to be seen.  
“Where’s Ron?” Sirius asked.  
“Sirius! That is the least of our problems right now! Get up!” Sirius shrugged and followed Hermione’s orders. As soon as he stood up he realised that Hermione and Harry must be on broomsticks, because they were floating outside the window… Then he heard an almighty squawk.  
“What the fuck are you two riding?!” Sirius tried not to yell.“Oh! A hippogriff. Buckbeak?” Harry beckoned, gaining the creature’s attention. “This is Sirius,” he added, pointing at him. Sirius automatically bowed. He’d had enough trysts with Hippogriffs in the Forbidden Forest to know that bowing was a necessity when meeting the creatures. Buckbeak bowed back as best he could while still staying airborne, and Sirius took that as invitation enough to hop on. 

———————————————————

Saying goodbye to Harry was like saying goodbye to James all those years ago. Peter had yet again taken away someone Sirius loved, and even though Sirius knew that he would see Harry again, it still felt like he was losing him, it still felt the same.  
Unfortunately, due to the full moon debacle, Sirius had never had a chance to talk to Remus. All he’d wanted to do for the past twelve years is talk to Remus, but the hug was enough, he told himself. The brief hug in the shack was enough, for now. Because he would see him again. He’d die if he didn’t.   
Dumbledore had said something to Sirius, before The Order started, when Sirius was mourning the loss of Regulus. He’d pulled him aside during an Order meeting.   
“Do not pity yourself, Sirius. Pity those who live without love.”  
Right now Sirius pitied himself, something that he’d taught himself not to do during his time at Azkaban. But now he was lying without love when love itself was in reach… or almost in reach. The universe seemed to have nudged Sirius out of the way, and let him move past Remus seemingly inconsequentially. But it wasn’t inconsequential at all.

It wasn’t inconsequential, because Sirius was lying on the beach in the Galapagos Islands. That sounds lovely to an outsider, he thought, that he was lying on the beach in the Galapagos islands, but he was lying alone. He was alone when all he wanted to do was be a good godfather to Harry, and when all he wanted to do was hold Remus. He didn’t care where they were anymore, all he cared about was being WITH Remus, and right now, he was utterly alone.He had Buckbeak, of course, and the two had grown quite close, but the moment he started actually conversing wth the creature was the moment that he knew he had to get out, hence the Galapagos Islands. They’d been living in a hut in the woods somewhere in Britain prior, and he’d felt awfully alone. At least here he could be surrounded by people and sunshine while feeling awfully alone. It wasn’t good, but it was better. He’d heard, somewhere, that there weren’t owls in this part of the world. Wizards used exotic birds to communicate.

So that night, Sirius penned a letter to Remus. It was odd, writing with a muggle pen and paper, but it was even odder to place the letter in the beach of a toucan-like bird and whisper “Remus Lupin, wherever he is” to the bird before it flew off, and possibly even odder that he pet his Hippogriff housemate on the head before he went to sleep. He could tolerate this existence for a bit, maybe, but this wasn’t living. This was alright, but only compared to the disparity of Azkaban. 

A few days passed with no word from Remus, so Sirius decided to stop feeling sorry for himself and go for a swim. He started learning how to be a functioning human after that. The water knocked some sense into him, he assumed.   
Sirius got home one night to find the bird resting on his bed. He whipped around and saw that the window was open, and Buckbeak was standing next to it looking very proud of himself. Even the Hippogriff is adjusting, he roused on himself, why can’t you? The bird dropped two letters onto the bed. This was the first contact Sirius had had with anyone other than locals, who didn’t speak much English, and Buckbeak, who obviously spoke none. He tore open the first letter, the one with familiar handwriting, first.

Sirius,  
I have to admit I was very glad to hear from you. It seems unfair that you were gone for all that time and we only had a few minutes together. I’m assuming that you were, in fact, there the night that you ‘broke in’? I’m hoping you heard Dumbledore absolutely wreck Snape. It was brutal, and in my opinion (and I’m sure yours, too), absolutely brutal.  
I haven’t been up to much, but I will catch you up next time I see you.   
——— Sirius noticed that ‘next time I see you’ was crossed out, and replaced with——   
Sorry, It must be a bit forward to assume you still want to see me. I was hoping we could catch up, at some point.   
The bird who delivered this to me was a Waved Albatross, so I’m assuming you’re in the Galapagos Islands? A nice choice, after all that time away.   
———How the FUCK did Remus know what kind of bird that was? And where it was from?!———  
Sorry, I hate to bring up your absence, but it was bound to come up at some point or another.   
I resigned from Hogwarts,  
——— Sirius audibly gasped when he read that. It was such a good job!———  
Due to Snivellus (yes, I’m calling him that. Given the situation, I think that it is justified) telling the entirety of the student body (‘accidentally’, of course) about my lycanthropy. He’s still as charming as he’s always been, if you were wondering. Maybe you weren’t. I don’t quite know how to communicate with you at the moment, if I’m being honest. I feel guilty, honestly. After all we’ve been through… Sorry. This isn’t about me. Or us. Or maybe it is, but it’s just not the time.  
I have to go to work, because I actually enjoy my job at this bookstore and it’s the moon in a few days, and I’ll probably be fired, so I’m going to enjoy this job while I still can.  
I really hope you’re well, Sirius.  
\- Remus

Sirius read and reread the letter over and over again. He read it so many times that it had gotten dark outside, and both Buckbeak and the… what was it again? Waved Albatross? Had gone to sleep.  
At the end of the letter, Remus had scribbled out a word, before he had written Remus. Remus probably assumed that Sirius would never find out what it was, without magic and all, but Sirius had stolen a wand from a wizard somewhere on the island (he felt guilty, he swore), and he performed the incantation that allowed him to see what Remus had originally written. Once he did, the word seemed to just… stand there.  
Moony.Fuck.

—————————————————

A week later - after reading Harry’s letter that informed hm of the odd goings-on at Hogwarts with the tournament and all, and after he had relayed this information to Remus to find out if he was just being paranoid or if the Hogwarts information seemed suspicious, and finding out that Remus agreed that something was up - Sirius packed up his possessions and placed them in a rucksack, bid his farewell to Beaky (the only name the waved albatross seemed to respond to, which was incredibly confusing for Buckbeak, and Sirius himself) and hopped on Buckbeaks back, casting a disillusionment charm over them both, and started the journey to. Scotland. He’d left Harry in a time of need once. He wasn’t going to do it again.

————————————————-

SIX MONTHS LATER

Buckbeak and Sirius had been primarily living in a cave on the outskirts of Hogsmeade, which also meant that they were living on rats (revolting, but the thought of biting Peter’s head off was reasonable motivation) and Padfoot was dumpster diving every other day. Harry had seen Padfoot no more than twice, and occasionally Sirius was able to sneak into Hog’s Head and use the fireplace to floo his face into the Gryffindor fireplace. Harry thought that meeting in person was too risky. This was disappointing. Clearly there was as much of Lily as there was of James in the boy. That was less disappointing.

This night, however, Sirius had made his way into the castle, with written permission from Dumbledore, as he ASSURED Hermione, and was sitting next to Harry’s bed in the hospital wing.  
A child had died.  
Harry had WATCHED said child die.  
Barty Crouch Junior had been impersonating Moody for a year.  
Moody had been locked in a chest for said year.  
Voldemort was back.  
Sirius knew he should be tragically upset, and he WAS, it’s just that he was sitting next to Harry in a hospital bed and he wouldn’t have been able to do that if not for Voldemort being back. No, he reprimanded himself, this was bad, bad news. But, the devil on his shoulder reminded him, couldn’t he just see the bright side?  
The Weasley’s suddenly walked into the hospital wing accompanied by Ron and Hermione. Sirius sat, as the dog, just. Looking at them. He didn’t have any clue what else he should do.  
“Poppy, could you give us a moment?” Sirius heard Dumbledore say from the entrance of the hospital wing.  
Poppy sighed, but eventually said “Yes, alright,” and walked out the door, leaving Dumbledore, the Weasley’s, Ron, Hermione, Harry and Sirius in the hospital wing.  
“Sirius, you can change back now,” Dumbledore said, and Sirius shifted back into a human.  
Molly screamed and started yelling, which confused Sirius at first before he realised that, in her. Eyes, the most wanted man in Britain and mass murderer Sirius Black was in her presence. Dumbledore quickly provided context, and Molly seemed to calm down, but her legs were. Skill shaking, so Sirius summoned her a chair. She smiled at him after that, so Sirius himself calmed significantly.

A lot was said after that, but the words that Sirius held close were ‘Lie low at Lupin’s’. Dumbledore wanted him to see Remus. Not even just see Remus, but actually stay with Remus. Once they’d all left, and it was just Sirius and Dumbledore, Sirius asked “So where is Remus?”  
Dumbledore smiled. “Somewhere with a bar, a swimming pool, and two very comfortable beds.”

Sirius inhaled sharply. Remus was at their old apartment. THEIR old apartment. Jesus Christ.   
Then he got up and left.  
And made his way to the only place he’d ever called home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad that you guys have kept reading!!!  
> My email's a bit messed up so to those of you who've emailed me, I'll get back to. you asap.  
> Much love,  
> Gabby xx


	3. Remus: Sirius is Back.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sirius arrives at he and Remus' old apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update!

Remus woke up to the tapping of an owl’s beak on his window. “Jesus fuck,” he muttered. It was 5am. No rest for the wicked.  
He opened the window and gave the owl a couple of treats before opening the letter.  
Dumbledore’s familiar scrawl covered the page. The last time he’d gotten a letter like this from Dumbledore was when he was offered the Defence Against The Dark Arts Professor position. That went quite well, until the whole werewolf mass revelation.   
Anyway. He ignored that memory and read the letter. 

Remus,  
I hope you are well. The triwazard tournament has now come to an unfortunate close, as I’m sure you have heard.  
I suggest you adopt a dog. Perhaps a large black one.  
Food for thought.  
-Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore Remus sat, staring at the letter, for god knows how long. Firstly, what the fuck. Secondly, only Dumbledore would send a letter like that. Thirdly, that was possibly the least covert message ever. Fourthly, SIRIUS WAS COMING. And Fifthly, and finally, WHAT THE FUCK.

A lot had happened since the day that Sirius was taken too Azkaban. A lot.

Remus had spent twelve years searching the earth for a job that he could sustain for more than a month without people realising he was a werewolf. Eventually, he resorted to muggle work, but there weren’t many establishments that would keep someone on who had to take two days off every month. It had been a hellish time, and fate must have intervened, because just When Remus realised that there was no reason for him to continue existing (he wasn’t happy, or motivated, and it wasn’t like he had anyone to live for) Dumbledore had asked him to come to Hogwarts, and be the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor.

It should have been an easy offer to say yes to. It would give him a safe, rent-free place to live, somewhere to transform safely, medical care. After said transformations, a stable salary for the first time ever and the ability to do what he realised he’d always wanted to do; teach. He’d always been studious. Teaching had always made sense to him. But with the war, he never started. And the he had no support afterwards, because all his friends were gone.  
But on the other hand, he would have to see Harry. At first, the thought of seeing him filled him with great joy. This was the child who he had spent his young adulthood fiercely protecting. Then he realised that he would have to tell Harry, at some point, that he was his mother’s best friend, and a Marauder with his father. Then he realised that going back to Hogwarts would mean going back to the place where he met Sirius.

Remus had done his best not to think about Sirius the past few years. It hadn’t worked, and the man had been on his mind at least once a day, but he took some solace in the fact that he was trying to move on. He’d spent an awful lot of time convincing himself that Sirius was a mass murderer and therefore should be forgotten about, but the more he thought about the more he had to try and convince himself that Sirius was a mass murderer. He would never have believed it if not for Peter dying. That was undeniable proof.  
He’d had a theory, a few years back, that Peter had actually killed the muggles to frame Sirius and that his spell rebounded on himself and he died too, leaving Sirius to be carted off to Azkaban, but there was no reason for Peter to do that. Sirius was the secret keeper, Remus reminded himself, and he was the only one who betrayed James and Lily. Remus was so sure that Sirius hadn’t done it, but eventually he put it down to wishful thinking.   
When he got to Hogwarts, pretending that he wasn’t the second person to hold Harry as a baby and that he wasn’t everything that he was to Harry’s parents was torture. He was filled with guilt that he didn’t take him in and raise him himself, but a werewolf living alone couldn’t raise a child, as much as he wished, all of those years, that he could.

Sirius had escaped. Remus knew that he wasn’t in danger, and he didn’t think that Harry was either. This was the boy who Sirius loved more than he had loved Remus, even more than James. His godson, his nephew. It was impossible for Sirius to hurt Harry. But Remus didn’t know what twelve years in Azkaban could do to someone, could do to his Sirius. Not HIS Sirius, he reminded himself. Just Sirius. 

Then he had seen Peter on the map, and everything had made sense. They switched Secret Keepers. Remus was offended, but also slightly put out that he hadn’t thought of the idea himself. In theory, it was the perfect plan. But in that theory, Peter hadn’t been the spy. Remus felt like an idiot for not figuring it out sooner.  
As soon as he saw Padfoot drag Ron into the shack, he was absolutely terrified but he also felt such a rush of relief knowing that Sirius was alive. And not just alive, but here, now, so close to Remus. But then the moon came, and it appeared that Moony was angry at Padfoot for leaving him, and Peter escaped, and Snape told everyone that he was a werewolf, and it was a massive shitshow. At least the git hadn’t told the kids that Remus and Sirius were flaming queers. He couldn’t imagine that would’ve gone down well.

So the past year, Sirius ended up being on the run, because Peter was a bastard, but Remus knew that something as up with him back then and in all honesty he wasn’t that surprised that he betrayed all of them. Remus barely heard from Sirius after they reunited at the shack. The feelings were all still there, that was a fact, but they hadn’t seen each other since. Every letter that they exchanged was signed with ‘Hope you’re well,’ or ‘Best Wishes’, or some other farewell that your grandmother would write on your Christmas card.  
Maybe Sirius didn’t feel it anymore. Maybe he was out fucking muggle guys, or girls even, while Remus was pining over him. It was like sixth year all over again. Remus wished that he knew what was going on in Sirius’ head. It used to be so easy to tell, but it just wasn’t anymore. That’s what twelve years of silence results in, he guessed.

After Hogwarts, Remus moved back into the apartment that he had shared with Sirius when he was fresh out of school. He felt like the wound of losing him had closed up and that moving back in wouldn’t be like adding salt to the wound, but he found that it was. It was like adding acid to the wound of losing Sirius. The entire ordeal of losing him seemed to hurt all over again. But, he needed the money that he did have from teaching at Hogwarts to support him in those awful months of unemployment that he knew would keep coming, so he put his bags in the other bedroom, not his and Sirius’ old one. It would be easier to pretend that he hadn’t lost him if he wasn’t sleeping in the bed they’d fucked in an infinite amount of times. 

But now, he had received the note from Dumbledore, he was deeply regretting moving back into the old flat, because it meant that Sirius would be moving back in, too. It meant that he would be living with Sirius in the same place where they had lived when they planed to get married, and where they had laid on the lounge watching television. But he couldn’t say no to Dumbledore, especially when what he had gathered from Sirius’ letters implied that the man had been living in a cave for the better part of a year.   
So, Remus brought out the sack of galleons from under his bed and decided he would treat himself to some grocery shopping. He usually just lived off takeaway, because in the end it was cheaper than actually cooking every night, and he barely had time to whip up home cooked meals when night shifts at his job paid more, and he often ended up eating shit food at three in the morning.   
Sirius would give him a hard time about where he’d been working. “You’re better than this!” He would say. Remus sighed, because he didn’t want to go through the conversation explaining how he actually wasn’t, and this is where werewolves ended up in society, and that’s just the way that he was. And yes, he was sure, because he’d been trying to get proper jobs for almost thirteen years now, and about nine years in he’d realised it was actually easier to work minimum wage muggle jobs. They were safe, and muggles tended to ask less questions. 

————————————————————

Remus had quite a nice outing at the grocery store. He tended to stay away from wizarding neighbourhoods and Diagon Alley, instead opting for grocery stores in Muggle neighbourhoods where people smiled at him in passing. He decided he would buy new muggle clothes, lest Sirius have a go at him for not looking after himself.   
Entering the apartment, Remus glanced in the mirror. He looked quite smart, if he said so himself.  
He spent the next hour or so reorganising the kitchen, and adjusting to having a full fridge rather than one with lonely takeaway containers. 

Dumbledore hadn’t specified when Sirius would be coming, so Remus spent the next hour fixing the muggle television and allowed himself to sit down and relax. Unfortunately, it seemed to be impossible for him to relax, because his old lover and best friend and technically still his fiancé was going to rock up at any second. 

Remus had drifted off to sleep. It was eight o’clock when he woke up. Or, more accurately, when he woke up to a face just inches from his own, seemingly studying him from above.  
“JESUS FUCK!” Remus yelled. Upon reflection, it seemed like a perfectly reasonable reaction to the situation.  
“Woah, woah, Remus, it’s just me,” Sirius said, backing away with his arms in surrender.  
“Could you have woken me in a slightly less alarming fashion, Sirius?” Remus asked, sitting up and slowing his heart rate.  
“Well, yeah,” Sirius said, sitting in his old favourite arm chair. “You just looked really peaceful, sleeping.”  
“Did you consider that I looked peaceful because, perhaps, I was peaceful?” Remus asked sarcastically.  
Sirius smiled. “Ah, the sharp wit. So nothing has changed, then.”  
Remus smiled back, weakly. So much had changed, but Sirius saying that it hadn’t made Remus feel significantly better about himself. “I think you’ll find a lot has changed.”  
Sirius waved him off. “Anything that matters?”Remus paused for a moment. “Define matters.”  
They were both silent for a minute, but eventually, Sirius spoke up. “Do you have any food?”  
Remus nodded. “Yeah. I’ll make you something. What do you want?”  
“Oi, no. I’ll make it. I’ll figure it out.” Sirius said getting up. Remus went to argue, but he was also very tired, and it seemed like a safer bet to get Sirius to make his own food and ruin it, so he at least wouldn’t blame Remus for ruining it himself.

——————————————————

A while later, Sirius sat and finished his grilled cheese. He seemed much happier having been fed, meaning that he was ready to talk. Remus most definitely wasn’t, but seeing as Sirius had been in jail for twelve years and on the run for another, he had the upper hand when it came to conversation. “How are you, Remus?” Sirius asked. Remus. He’d never really used the full name before.  
“Well, jobs here and there. Hogwarts was good, except for the whole ‘I abandoned my best friend’ thing,” he sighed. Someone had to bring it up at some point.  
“Well, I don’t blame you. Pretty damning evidence that it was me, there was,” Sirius said, shifting into a more comfortable position on the chair.  
“I never believed that you did it, you know,” Remus said quietly.  
“Really?” Sirius said, doing a shit job at hiding his excitement.  
“Of course I didn’t,” Remus continued. “You wouldn’t have done that to James and Lily. And even though you knew he was the traitor, you wouldn’t have killed any muggles in the process of killing Peter.”  
Sirius smiled. “I thought you forgot about me,” he said softly.  
“I could never forget about you.” Remus whispered.  
“Why didn’t you come get me?” Sirius asked after a while.   
Remus was flooded with guilt. “I knew you didn’t do it, but no one believed me. There was no one left in The Order who did. I tried, for a while, but no one listens to a werewolf who is trying to rescue the love of his life.” Remus regretted saying those words the second that they came out of his mouth. Neither of them had said anything about their past relationship since they first saw each other.  
“I guess it becomes pretty convincing when everyone believes something that you don’t.”  
“It wasn’t that,” Remus said quickly. “It’s that no one would help me get you out. I couldn’t do anything myself without being locked up and called a traitor.”  
“Alice and Frank wouldn’t have helped?”  
Remus frowned. Sirius didn’t know about them, he realised.  
“Alice and Frank were crucio’d out of they minds by Bellatrix once Voldemort had fled. Or been killed, or whatever happened when he tried to kill Harry. They don’t remember anything. They don’t even remember Neville. But they didn’t crack. They didn’t say a word.”  
Sirius put his head in his hands while he digested the information. “They were good, though. They were so good.”  
Remus wished that he could reach out and hold Sirius’ hand, but he didn’t think Sirius would like that after everything that Remus hadn’t done. “We were all good, Sirius. We were all good people. We all did everything that we could. And we saved Harry, so we did what we really needed to do. And we won.”  
“Did we really, though?” Sirius asked. Remus was confused. “Did we really win?” Remus shot Sirius a perplexed look and he continued. “Was it really a victory if we’re all gone? If Marlene and Dorcas are still gone, I’m assuming,” Remus nodded, “if Benjy’s gone, if Gideon and Fabian and Alice and Frank and Caradoc and Edgar and the people who died in the crossfire are gone, if James and Lily,” Sirius’ voice cracked when he said their names, “Are gone? Did we really win?”  
Remus didn’t know what to say, so he settled on “Well we’re still here.”“Yeah, after one of us spending twelve years in literal hell and the other one of us spending twelve years completely alone, meanwhile the real fucker is running around as a rat.”  
Remus paused, for no real reason. “Sorry, Remus,” Sirius continued. “I didn’t mean you’ve been completely alone, Ii don’t know who you’ve been with, or are with, I guess, I just thought-“  
“Sirius.” Remus cut him off. “There’s no one.” Sirius furrowed his brows, in a look that Remus knew meant that he wanted to know if there had been anyone. “There’s been drunken fucks that end up being one night stands. That’s it, okay?”  
Sirius nodded, but looked sad. “Okay.”  
Remus saw sadness in those eyes, sadness that he promised he would stop Sirius feeling ever again when they were eighteen. “I’ve never been with anyone because of you, and that’s not a bad thing.” Sirius remained silent. “Padfoot?”  
Sirius’ eyes shot up to make contact with Remus’. “Moony.”   
Sirius stood up and sat next to Remus. He held his hand and squeezed it. They didn’t speak anymore, all that was to be said had been said. Remus felt a head droop onto his shoulder and the deep breaths coming from Sirius that indicated that he was asleep, and he allowed himself to rest his head on top Sirius’. He fell asleep like that. It was alright like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing this. I've been slack with updates recently, I'm sorry! I'm on a roadtrip with my family and there isn't much wifi!!  
> xoxo Gabby


	4. Sirius: The Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Truth or truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the irregular updates. I'm working on it!!

The moment that Sirius saw Remus again, it felt like the world stood still. Everything slowed down around them, and it seemed like the only thing in the world was Remus. It was almost too overwhelming. Almost.

——————————————

Sirius had been talking to Remus for a short while, and eventually he rested his head on Remus’ shoulder and fell asleep. Or pretended to sleep, more like. He knew that he would majorly overthink the action of physically lying on Remus if he had to do it while awake, and it would probably cause Remus to freak the fuck out as well, so it was easier on everyone if he just pretended to be asleep. They’d already briefly held hands and that itself was almost overwhelming. He waited until Remus allowed himself to fall asleep properly before he even considered moving. Once Remus was soundly snoozing, Sirius made to get up and go to bed. Then he realised that he had no idea where he was actually meant to sleep.  
Instead of tormenting himself, Sirius adjusted himself very gently so that his head was on Remus’ chest. He could hear the steady heartbeat, and for the first time in a long time he felt human. 

—————————————-  
Sirius woke up with a start. He noticed that there were tears streaming down his face, and he must have yelled when he woke because Remus was suddenly kneeling in front of him, saying something or other, but Sirius couldn’t digest the words. The bloody nightmares he’d been having since he left Azkaban made it impossible to get a decent night’s sleep.   
He had worse nightmares since Azkaban that he had had when he was in Azkaban. Maybe it was because of the fact that he was living a nightmare back then, and sleep became more of a refuge, but now his nightmares were actually scary. They depicted him being carted off to Azkaban, being in Azkaban, Azkaban, Azkaban, Azkaban… His nightmares were terrifying because he couldn’t physically imagine anything worse than going back to that horrible place. This was why he slept as Padfoot, he reminded himself. It was easier, because his emotions were less complex as a dog.   
“Sirius, Sirius, come on,” Sirius heard Remus say while felt a hand stroking his forehead.   
Shit, Remus. “Sorry,” Sirius started. “It’s just…”  
“Nightmares?” Remus guessed.  
“Yeah,” Sirius sighed. “Nightmares.”  
“Want to talk about it?” Remus asked. He had such kind eyes, Sirius thought. Why hadn’t he remembered that Remus had such kind eyes?  
“No,” Sirius answered honestly. “Just Azkaban. That’s all.”  
Remus just nodded. “Okay. We can talk about it if you want. Just so you know.”  
Sirius smiled slightly. “I know. Thank you, Moony. Remus. Sorry. Habit,” Sirius explained. He was blushing, he realised, while he willed the recess in his cheeks to die down.  
“It’s okay, Sirius,” Remus smiled. “We’ll get used to it.”  
The thing was, Sirius didn’t want to get used to it. He wanted to hold Remus, and kiss him, and tell him just how sorry he was. He also really wanted to fuck him, which was an odd feeling. He hadn’t been remotely horny in thirteen years.  
Then he had an idea. “Remus?”  
“Yes, Sirius?”  
“Do you want to play a game?” Sirius asked, nervously.  
Remus paused for a moment. “What type of game?”  
Sirius sat up, trying to find the least creepy way of announcing what he wanted to do.“Uh, kind of like truth or dare. Except there’s no dare.”  
Remus smiled. “Okay, sure. I have a question first though?” Sirius nodded for him to continue. “Whiskey or no whiskey?”  
“Whiskey,” Sirius confirmed. “Definitely whiskey.”

——————————————Sirius and Remus were now sitting on the cushioned floor of the flat’s bar, a bottle of Whiskey in between them. It felt like the room was buzzing with electricity, but that might just be how Sirius felt. There was no indication that Remus felt the same as Sirius did… yet.  
“Okay. A few swigs first?” Remus suggested.  
“God, definitely,” Sirius sighed in relief. He wasn’t sure that he could do this sober.  
Remus picked up the bottle and swallowed three or four times. Sirius took it and repeated the action, enjoying the burn on his tongue and the warmth in his throat.  
Putting down the bottle, Sirius exhaled to prepare himself. For what, he didn’t know, but preparation seemed necessary. “Alright, Lupin, you start.”  
“It’s your game!” Remus pointed out.“Oi, I’ve been in prison for twelve years. You start.” The Azkaban card couldn’t be used forever, so Sirius was going to play it while he still could.“The Azkaban card won’t work forever,” Remus smirked. How did he always know just want Sirius was thinking? “But fine. Truth or truth, Sirius?”  
“Tough decision. I’ll go with truth.”  
Remus nodded. “Okay. Are there any limits here?” Sirius shook his head. “Right. What’s Azkaban like?”  
Sirius knew the question would come up at some point. At least this time he could answer it while the pleasant feeling of Whiskey was still burning in his throat. “Dark. It’s always dark, even when the sun is shining. There’s dementors, literally everywhere. People talk to themselves a lot, so you learn quite quickly who else is in there. No one over comes to visit, for good reason, I guess, but at the end of the day it’s cold, and dark, and you sleep on the stone floors of a tiny cell. You eat what little is given to you, and do your best not to go mad.” Sirius finished. It was quite a good description, in his opinion, and he was happy to leave it there.  
“I’m sorry.”  
“Why?” Sirius asked.  
“Because that’s not you. You shouldn’t have been in there. I should’ve gotten you out.” Remus looked incredibly guilty.  
“Hey, no. I know it’s not me, that’s why I didn’t go batshit crazy in there. I wasn’t guilty, so the dementors couldn’t torment me with guilt over something that I hadn’t done.”  
Remus was silent for a moment. Then he picked up the whiskey and took a mighty gulp, before making eye contact with Sirius again. “Okay, Sirius. Your turn.”  
Sirius nodded, but then he realised that everything he wanted to ask Remus he needed to be way more drunk to ask. “Pass the whiskey?” Remus chuckled and passed him the bottle. Sirius drank until his eyes stung, and then summoned another bottle for later. “Right. Remus, truth or truth?”  
“Truth, obviously,” Remus smiled. He had such a pretty smile.  
“I have a pretty smile?” Remus asked, smirking.   
“Shit. Did I say that out loud?”  
Remus laughed. “Yep. Anyway. Truth. Hit me with your best shot.”  
Sirius realised that after the smile comment he literally had nothing to lose. “How many people have you slept with? Since I left, I mean,” Sirius explained, which somehow made it more awkward.Remus picked up the first bottle and finished it off. “Uh, I guess, like, fifteen?”  
Sirius, for some ungodly reason, felt the sudden urge to cry. All those people touching Remus, HIS Remus, and he could do nothing about it. “Oh. Okay.” Sirius couldn’t think of anything better to say. Remus opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but he didn’t, so Sirius chose to continue the game.  
“Truth, I’m assuming?” Remus asked.  
“You know me so well,” Sirius said sarcastically. It didn’t come out sarcastically, unfortunately, because it appeared as though Remus Lupin was blushing.“This is going to sound really weird,” Remus admitted, sounding almost guilty.  
“It’s fine, Remus, just ask.”  
“Have you slept with anyone? In the past year?”Sirius did his best not to laugh. He almost said ‘of course not, I’m still hung up on you like I have been for about fifteen years’ but he settled with “No. Definitely no.”  
Remus tried his best to hide his smile, but Sirius could see straight through him. “I choose truth,” Remus stated.  
“Okay…” Sirius knew that they whiskey was hitting him. “Can you drink some more first?”  
Remus laughed. “Yes. Pass the bottle.”  
Remus drank quite a bit, and Sirius knew it was mostly to put Sirius at ease. It worked.  
“Okay,” Sirius said, having settled on a question, as uncomfortable as it would be. “How were they?”  
Remus looked perplexed. “How were what?  
”The men, the women… How were they?”  
Remus smiled gently. “Nowhere near as good.”  
Sirius went to ask ‘as good as what?’ but they both knew that Remus meant as good as Sirius. It was obvious. And something about it was very comforting. Something about it made Sirius feel warm.They sat in silence for a while, before Sirius broke the silence. “Truth.”  
Remus snapped back to reality almost immediately. “Right, yes. Have you thought about us? Like, us before?” Remus looked horrified at the fact that he’d let himself say that.“Of course I have,” Sirius said quietly. “All the time.”  
“Do you miss it?” Remus asked, as quietly as Sirius had spoken.  
“Of course I do. How could I not?”  
“It’s me, Sirius.”  
“Exactly,” Sirius responded. “Exactly.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,  
> I decided I'm going to read through my fics... I'm kind of nervous  
> I hope you're all well :)
> 
> Gabs xoxo


	5. Remus: They Weren't You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "They were good, I guess, they just weren't..."  
> "They weren't what?"  
> "They weren't you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOVE this chapter tbh  
> Please share this story around!!

There was only so many ways for Remus to respond to “Exactly.”, but awkwardly spluttering wasn’t the way he would’ve chosen if he’d had any choice in the matter.  
“It’s fine, Remus,” Sirius said, thankfully taking the heat off Remus to respond. “I know it’s different now. That you don’t think about us. It’s fine, really.”  
Shit. That’s not what he wanted Sirius to think at all. Of course he’d thought about them. He thought about them every day since Sirius left. Sirius was the only thing that had kept him alive. Even Moony missed Sirius. During the moons, Moony would spend the whole night wandering through forests, trying to find his mate.   
“I do. Think about us, I mean,” Remus finally said. “I have thought about us.”  
“But you thought I was a murderer?” Sirius asked. Fair question.  
“I never thought you were a murderer, Sirius,” Remus said quietly.  
“Then why didn’t you come get me?” Sirius said, so quietly that it was barely a whisper.   
“Why didn’t you break out for me?” Remus said in reply.  
The two men just stared at each other for a while, before saying “I’m sorry,” in unison.   
They smiled at each other. “It’s okay,” Sirius said.  
“It’s okay,” Remus said after. He wasn’t sure what motivated him to say what he said next, but something clearly went wrong in his head. That’s the only explanation for what he said.  
“You know how I slept with those people?”  
Sirius looked up, clearly shocked. “Yeah?”  
“I didn’t finish. Not once,” Remus said, surprising even himself.  
“What?” Sirius asked.  
“I didn’t finish. I haven’t since you left,” Remus admitted. He was too far into this honesty thing to stop now.  
“Really?” Sirius said, obviously trying to suppress his happiness, and doing a shit job of it.  
“Yes, really,” Remus confirmed, amused at Sirius’ beaming smile. “You seem pretty happy about that,” Remus said, smirking.  
Sirius pouted. “Maybe I am. Not surprised though. Not like any of them could match up to me anyway.”  
Remus looked down and smiled to himself. “Maybe not.”  
“Maybe?” Sirius repeated, feigning outrage.   
“I barely remember, Sirius,” Remus sighed. It was true. He remembered it was fantastic, but he didn’t remember how it felt.   
“I do,” Sirius said quietly. “At least I think I do.”  
Remus was shocked. How did someone who spent that long in Azkaban remember what sex felt like? Good sex, that is. “How?” Remus asked honestly.“There weren’t many things I could hold onto in there. I guess the dementors couldn’t take that away from me. They probably didn’t want to. I expect they’re quite homophobic,” Sirius joked, but it was obvious that he was being completely serious. “That makes sense,” Remus nodded. It didn’t, but he knew it would make Sirius feel better thinking that it did.   
They were both silent for a minute. Sirius took a long drink of whiskey, and passed it wordlessly to Remus, who repeated the action. Eventually, Sirius broke the silence.  
“You really don’t remember?” Sirius sad, in a tone that only Remus could recognise. It was suggestive.  
“Sirius, I’m too drunk for this,” Remus replied.  
“Too drunk for what?” Sirius drawled.  
“Too drunk to say no to you.”  
“Then don’t say no.”  
Remus was slightly taken aback. He’d spent almost thirteen years thinking that if he ever had Sirius all to himself again, he would claim him all over again. But now, with Sirius in front of him, looking more vulnerable than ever, he didn’t want to claim him. He wanted to. Treat him like a delicate flower, and shower him in love, and desperately try to make up for lost time. But he didn’t even know if Sirius felt the same way. After Azkaban, it was very possible that Sirius just wanted a fuck. And Remus couldn’t do that to himself. He couldn’t pine over Sirius all over again. He wouldn’t.  
“I have to say no, Sirius.” Remus said finally.  
“Why?” Sirius asked quietly, seeming hurt.  
“Because I’m still in love with you,” Remus blurted out. He slapped his hand over his mouth, instantly regretting his words.  
“Really?” Sirius whispered, blushing. Sirius Black, blushing over a thirty-something werewolf. Odd.  
“Yes,” Remus sighed. He couldn’t take it back now. “I never stopped loving you.” He said quietly. “Of course I know you don’t feel that way, and I’m sorry for putting this on you, it’s just-“  
Sirius leaned over to Remus while he was stuttering and shut him up by covering Remus’ with his own.  
Remus melted into the other man’s touch, the way that he always had. Everything fit together, like placing the last piece to finish a puzzle.   
This was still wrong, when Sirius didn’t feel the same way. Remus must have checked out, because Sirius pulled back. “I love you too, you idiot,” Sirius said smiling. “I always have, I always will. You’re my Moony,” he finished. Remus couldn’t recall a time when he’d felt more complete.  
Remus realised that the kiss was getting more heated, and noticed that somehow he was pushed up against the couch with Sirius straddling his hips. That wouldn’t do at all.  
Remus lifted Sirius up and threw him onto the couch.  
“Mm, I forgot you were like this,” Sirius smirked.Remus needed to make him come undone. He needed to make sure Sirius lost all composition. Luckily, he remembered exactly how.   
Remus started sucking on Sirius’ pulse point and relished in the noises that escaped the other boy’s mouth. Suddenly he pulled back and stood up, leaving Sirius on the couch.“Hey!” Sirius exclaimed, pouting.  
“Yes?” Remus smirked.  
“Why’d you stop?!” Sirius said, before quietly muttering “I’m sorry. I’m out of practice. We don’t have to do anything.” He looked incredibly sad.  
Remus was filled with guilt. He sunk to his knees in front of the couch. “No, baby, it’s not you,” he reassured Sirius. “I just wanted to take you to the bedroom. Make it nice for you,” he tried to explain.  
“You sure?” Sirius looked at him. “If I’m bad we don’t have to.”  
Remus could’ve cried at the look on Sirius’ face. “Baby, you’re perfect.” Sirius was still looking away, avoiding eye contact. “Pads, look at me,” Remus begged. “I’m sorry, it’s not you, I was just being a bastard. You’re amazing, you’re perfect, you’re the best, okay?”  
Sirius made eye contact with Remus. “You sure?” He said quietly.  
“I’m sure my love, I’m sure. I want to show you something. Come with me?” Sirius nodded and let Remus help him up. Remus led him into what used to be their spare room.  
“Can’t we go to our old room?” Sirius asked, feeling more confident, judging by the tone of his voice.  
“Yes, I just want to show you something, okay?”   
Sirius nodded. “Okay.” Remus sat Sirius down on the bed and pulled out a small box from the bedside table.  
“Do you remember the day you left? You were doing dishes the muggle way just to prove to me that you could?”  
Sirius nodded. “I didn’t leave, Remus.”  
“Shit, sorry,” Remus realised. “I meant the day they took you,” he tried to correct himself. Sirius gave him a smile, so it was obviously okay.   
“I was doing the dishes?” Sirius repeated, urging Remus to continue the story.  
“Sorry, yes. You were doing the dishes and I made you take off your ring so that you didn’t lose it in the water?”   
Sirius nodded. “I never put it back on. All those years in Azkaban, I wished I’d just put it back on.”  
Remus smiled. “It’s okay.”  
Sirius shook his head. “No, it’s not. But I appreciate the sentiment.” He finished. “What did you want to show me?”  
“Look,” Remus said quietly, opening the box. Inside were two white gold rings, one engraved with ‘Padfoot’, and the other with ‘Moony’.   
Sirius’ jaw dropped. “You kept them?” He managed to whisper.  
“I always kept them, in case you came back for me.” Remus secretly was slightly put out that Sirius never thought that he was enough to escape for.  
“I wanted to, I just thought you wouldn’t believe me. Until last year I didn’t have any proof,” Sirius tried to explain.  
It was a fair point, thought Remus. “Okay.”  
“Remus?” Sirius said after a while. “Moony?”  
Remus smiled at the use of the old nickname. “Yes, Padfoot?”  
“Do you think I could put mine back on?”  
This was it, Remus thought. This is what it feels like to be content. “Yes, of course you can. I’ll put mine on, too.”  
“You don’t have to.”  
“I want to.”  
They slipped the rings onto each other’s fingers and beamed at each other.  
“Does this mean we’re fiancees again?” Sirius asked.  
“If you want to be,” Remus smiled.  
“It seems like everything’s changed, but we haven’t.”  
“Forever and always,” Remus reminded Sirius.   
“You always said that.”  
“It’s still true.”  
“Can we fuck now?”  
“Definitely.”

And they did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for still reading to my people who've been there since the beginning.  
> You're the best.  
> xoxo Gabby


	6. Sirius: Damn it, Dumbledore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They settle into a routine, Remus questions magic, and Dumbledore ruins everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second last chapter of this short fic. Next one will be Order of The Phoenix!! Then Bring Back Black, then post-deathly hallows.

Sirius woke up with a start. He heard himself let out an involuntary whimper, but then he recognised the feeling of strong arms wrapped around him and immediately relaxed. He wasn’t in Azkaban, he reminded himself. He was in he and Remus’ bed, the bed that had been theirs since they were seventeen.   
“Baby?” A sleepy voice came from the man behind him. “You okay?”  
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Sirius lied.  
“You don’t have to say that. I know you’re not.”  
Sirius frowned. “Why do you think that?”  
“You’re shaking, Pads,” Remus sighed, pulling his arm out from Sirius to prop himself up.  
Sirius turned over, shocked at the loss of Remus’ body heat. “Sorry,” he said guiltily.   
“You don’t have to be sorry, Sirius. Just be honest with me, yeah?” Remus said, absentmindedly tucking a piece of hair behind Sirius’ ear.  
“Yeah, okay,” Sirius said. ‘“You won’t judge me?”  
Remus chuckled. “Have I ever?”  
Sirius smiled, thinking about all of the stupid things he’d done that Remus had laughed at, or blatantly shrugged at. “No. I guess you haven’t.”  
Sirius leaned in and pecked Remus on the lips. “Wanna go back to sleep?”  
Sirius didn’t, but he saw how tired Remus was, and decided he would be quite content with lying in Remus’ arms while he slept. “Okay.”  
Sirius turned back over and settled into Remus again. “Moony?” Sirius whispered.  
“Yeah?” Remus whispered back.  
“I’m happy like this.”  
Remus pulled Sirius closer and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. “So am I,” Remus sighed. “So am I.”

—————————————————

Sirius woke up at noon the next day. He hadn’t seen a clock, but the sun was high in the sky. He woke up, and realised that he was alone in the bed.  
Thinking back, Sirius realised that he shouldn’t have been so scared, but he was. He was scared Remus had left him.  
Then he heard a crash from outside the room. It sounded like glass shattering on kitchen tiles. Throwing on one of Remus’ jumpers and his boxers, Sirius rushed out of the bedroom, praying that he would see his fiancee (his fiancee!) standing in the kitchen. Unfortunately he was met with an empty room. “Remus?” Sirius said tentatively.  
“Down here,” a voice called, seemingly from the kitchen floor.  
Sirius rushed over to behind the counter to see Remus sweeping up broken glass.  
“I have so many questions,” Sirius said, smiling.  
Remus sighed. “Shut up.”  
“Never,” Sirius chuckled. He sat down on the floor, far away from the glass.  
“Fine. What are your questions?”  
“Why did you leave a recent escapee from Azkaban to wake up alone in an unfamiliar environment?” Sirius said. He meant for it to sound sarcastic, but it didn’t. He didn’t think it should have, really.  
Remus’ head snapped up. “I am so, so sorry,” he said honestly. “I’m a fucking idiot.”  
“It’s okay, Moony,” Sirius said quietly.  
“It’s not, Sirius,” Remus snapped. Sirius must have flinched, because Remus immediately dropped everything and quite literally walked through broken glass to hold Sirius close. “I didn’t mean to snap. I’m angry at myself, not at you,” he explained.  
Sirius immediately calmed at Remus holding him close. “It’s okay. Just wait for me, next time?”  
“Of course, my love. Of course.” Remus smiled and kissed Sirius deeply. It was then that Sirius noticed exactly how much Remus’ feet were bleeding.  
“Remus!” Sirius cried.  
“Yes?” Remus said worriedly.  
“Your feet!”  
Remus looked down, seemingly unaware that his feet were bleeding at all. “Oh, yes. I’ll clean them up in a minute.”  
Sirius shook his head and lightly pushed Remus off. “No, we’ll do it now.”  
Remus sighed, knowing that there was no point in arguing. “Fine. Grab me a towel? And there’s tweezers in the bathroom?”  
Sirius sighed and collected the tweezers, passing the towel to Remus, who started plucking bits of glass out of the soles of his feet.  
After sitting and watching Remus closely for what felt like forever, but in reality was probably only a few minutes, Sirius decided he would finally ask. Clearly, he seemed agitated, because Remus beat him to it. Without even looking up, Remus spoke. “What do you want to say, Sirius? It’s me, you can say anything,” he clarified.  
“Why, may I ask,” Sirius began, “Aren’t you using magic?”  
Remus sighed and put down the tweezers, looking at Sirius. “It’s embarrassing.”  
“It’s me, Remus,” Sirius said calmly. “You can say anything.”  
Remus smiled at his own words being used against him, and quietly said “I’m out of practice. I’m afraid I’d mess it up.”  
Sirius smiled in a way that he hoped was comforting. “Remus, that isn’t embarrassing.”  
“Yes, it is!” Remus said frustratedly. “I’ve had to work so many muggle jobs that I can barely fix minor wounds, or clean up glass!”  
Sirius beckoned for Remus to pass him his wand, and Remus did so reluctantly. Sirius wordlessly reared the glass and whispered some minor spells to heal Remus’ foot.  
“Remus, if I can learn how to do that after twelve years without a wand, I’m sure you can relearn it after a few muggle jobs.”  
Remus seemed to take a moment to digest that theory. “Okay, that’s fair,” he said, frowning. “I still don’t like it. I don’t like any of this! I don’t like that these are the jobs I do, I don’t like locking myself up every month, even though I have the wolfsbane potion now. I don’t like my life, Sirius.” Remus slapped his hand over his mouth, obviously regretting saying what he had said.  
“It’s okay, Moony,” Sirius said quietly, sitting next to Remus, and pulling him close. “You’ve had a shit go. And me leaving would’ve mad it one hundred times worse.”  
“You didn’t leave, Pads,” Remus muttered. “They took you away.”  
“Yeah,” Sirius sighed. “They did. But there’s nothing we can do about that now. We can make up for lost time, though.”  
Remus shook his head. “No, we can’t.”  
Sirius sighed again, and kissed Remus’ head. “You’re right, we can’t. But we can make now really good.”  
Remus looked up at Sirius with wide eyes. “When did you get so wise?”  
Sirius smiled. “Twelve years thinking about how you could’ve made better decisions if you were wiser tends to make you pretty wise.”  
Remus looked up at Sirius as the other man yawned. He hadn’t really slept for more than a few hours, and those few hours were riddled with nightmares. “You want to sleep, Pads?”  
“No,” Sirius said, attempting to stifle another yawn.   
“Yeah you do,” Remus teased.  
“I’m hungry though,” Sirius whined.  
Remus picked up his wand carefully and whispered a few incantations at his carton of eggs and loaf of bread, and soon enough scrambled eggs and toast were staring them in the face.  
“See!” Sirius exclaimed. “You’re just as good with a wand as you’ve always been!”  
Remus smiled at Sirius, who felt radiant that he’d made the downtrodden man smile. “Thank you, Sirius,” Remus said quietly.  
Sirius raised an eyebrow. “For what?”  
“For believing in me.”  
“Always, Moony. Always.”

—————————————————————

TWO MONTHS LATER

Sirius had been living with Remus for two months, and they’d fallen into a lovely domestic routine, cooking breakfast together, watching television at night, Remus taking Padfoot for a walk every day. It was nice. Really, really nice, if Sirius did say so himself.   
That is why he was so disappointed the day that the letter came.

“Sirius!” Remus called from the study.  
“Mmhmm?” Sirius responded from his spot on the couch.  
“C’mere!”  
Sirius stood up and sauntered into the study. “Yes, honey?”  
Remus tried to hide it, but Sirius saw him blush. “We have a letter. From Dumbledore.”  
Sirius tried not to, he really did, but he immediately fell into panic. “What’s happened?!”  
Remus quickly pulled Sirius in and sat him on his lap. “Nothing, baby, it’s. About what’s going to happen.”  
“What’s going to happen?” Sirius asked, still worried.  
“I’ll read it, okay?”  
Sirius nodded, and Remus took a breath and began to read out the letter in his hand.

“Remus, and Sirius,  
It has become clear to me that Voldemort is rising to power again.  
The Wizarding World is in immense danger, and the fact that the Ministry doesn’t believe this makes the situation far more dire.  
I’m sure that you remember The Order of The Phoenix, the group that I created that almost singlehandedly defeated Voldemort, and saved many lives along the way.  
I’m also sure that you know that many of the members from the original Order have either lost their lives or have been rendered unable to return to the group.  
You have both lived through the loss of many of your best friends due to their participation in The Order.  
However, I have decided to start up this organisation again. I believe there is no other choice. Those who do believe that Voldemort has returned, and who want to assist in the resistance against him, have offered to join The Order.  
Before you ask, they have been informed of the danger that they are placing themselves in, and have been told of the losses of incredible young wizards due to their involvement.  
Alastor, Miverna, Hestia, Emmeline, Dedalus, Sturgis, Mungungus, and many of the members who were not as involved as you were have nominated themselves and offered their assistance to The Order of The Phoenix.  
Regretfully, I must ask you, implore you, to return to The Order. You are two of the strongest wizards I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and you will be infinitely beneficial to The Order.   
If you decide to decline my offer, which I truly hope that you will not, I will, of course, understand.   
Sirius, you will not be able to participate in open battle due to your status as a fugitive, however I wholeheartedly believe that you have much to offer despite your situation.  
Remus, I am so, so sorry to ask what I will be asking of you. It is vital that someone moves in on the werewolves. Voldemort has been recruiting them far more insistently than he did during the last war… and, a war, I believe this will be.  
We have not found a suitable headquarters, as our old headquarters has been turned into a safehouse for the other side. The irony almost amuses me.  
I am truly sorry to put you both in this position. If you can think of a suitable spot for a headquarters, please do let me know.  
Please respond with your decision, and of course what you would be willing to do.  
I have no doubt that you will be two of the most valuable wizards that The Order would have.  
Thank you, truly,  
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

P.S. Sirius, Andromeda’s daughter has just become an Auror. She has offered her assistance to The Order and is already a key member. They would love to see you.”

Sirius sat, open-mouthed, and stared at Remus. There was so much he wanted to say, and yet he couldn’t figure out what exactly he wanted to tell Remus. He settled on “Well.”  
“Well.” Remus repeated. He put his head in his hands and sighed deeply.  
“What is it?” Sirius asked.  
“I have to go,” Remus sighed. “I have to go back to the pack.”  
“Nope. No. Absolutely not!” Sirius said definitely.   
“Sirius, it isn’t that simple,” Remus said quietly.  
“It is that simple! This man has tortured us since we were seventeen! Can we not just live like this?!” Sirius said angrily. He was happy for the first time since James and Lily died, and it was being ripped out from under him.  
“Sirius, I have to do this. I have to do something to stop this. It’s what Lily would have wanted.” Remus said the last sentence very quietly.  
Sirius moved off Remus’ lap and slid down the wall, feeling as hopeless as he did in Azkaban. “I just got out of Azkaban, and now you’re leaving me again,” he whimpered.  
It seemed as though that thought only just struck Remus. “I’m sorry, my love.”  
There was true desperation in Remus’ eyes, and Sirius did something that before Azkaban he never would have done. He did something selfless.   
“I have a place for headquarters.”  
“What?” Remus gaped.  
“I said I have a place for headquarters,” Sirius repeated, knowing he would regret it the instant that he admitted where he had chosen.  
“I heard you. Where?”  
Sirius took a deep breath. “Grimmauld Place.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the irregular updates!


	7. Remus: Back To Grimmauld Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter of this short fic... but the Order of The Phoenix fic is next!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO SORRY for the time between uploads, I've been really busy at uni :(

Remus almost fainted the moment that he heard Sirius mention that Grimmauld Place would be a suitable place for headquarters. It was hands down the most selfless thing that Sirius had ever done, and that was a mean feat considering the boy had become an illegal animagus at thirteen years old.  
“Are you sure?” Remus asked worriedly.  
“Yes,” Sirius sighed. “I can’t fight. The least that I can do is offer somewhere to stay. The fidelius is still up and everything. It’s perfect.” Sirius said the word ‘perfect’ with pure distaste.  
“You don’t have to do this, Pads,” Remus assured Sirius.  
“I know,” Sirius smiled weakly. “I want to.”

——————————————————

Remus wrote back to Dumbledore that night and received a response almost immediately, informing Remus and Sirius that The Order would be thrilled to use Grimmauld Place as its official headquarters. This letter also came with news of another muggle attack, which seemed to be a nudge in the direction of moving back in to Grimmauld Place sooner rather than later.

The next day, Remus went with Sirius, as Padfoot, to Sirius’ childhood home. Sirius shook the entire journey there, and as soon as Sirius whispered the number of the house, 12 Grimmauld Place appeared in front of them.   
Padfoot shook his doggy head and padded to the front door, having told Remus how to get in. The door swung open and it was as if evil filled the air inside the house. Sirius shifted back into a human, and wiped a tear away from his eye.   
“I hate this,” Sirius said quietly.  
“I know,” Remus sighed. “I know.”

They ran into Kreacher, and Remus witnessed a less than pleasant reunion between the elf and Sirius. Remus had never been. To Sirius’ house before, and had always assumed Sirius’ tales of Kreacher’s nastiness were heavily exaggerated. Clearly, they were not.  
There were many bedrooms in the house, but Sirius decided he and Remus would be staying in his old bedroom. It was the only place he felt somewhat safe back when he was in school. Remus would be publicly staying in the room that subtly conjoined to Sirius’, so that they could share a bed at night without anyone knowing.  
Sirius apparently knew where Buckbeak was and wanted to take him into Grimmauld Place. Remus got the impression Buckbeak was somewhere worse than the house, if that was even possible. Remus spent all day apparating back and forth between their flat and the house, bringing essentials to move into Grimmauld Place.  
At the end of the day, Remus walked into Sirius lying on his old bed. The draped had been charmed Gryffindor red, with some impressive magic that even Walburga and Orion couldn’t reverse. There were posters of muggle girls in bikinis on the wall, held in place by powerful permanent sticking charms. Every surface was gathering dust. It seemed as though no. one had been in the room since the day that Sirius left.  
“It’s ironic, isn’t it?” Remus said, lying down next to Sirius.  
“What is?” Sirius asked, turning his head.  
“You, the queerest of all queers, have muggle girlish bikinis all over your walls.”  
Sirius smiled. “Oh, that was purely for rebellious reasons. The only one I ever loved was my friend Moony, you see.”  
Remus chuckled and grabbed Sirius’ hand. “I see. Do you want the update from Dumbledore?”  
Sirius sighed. “I guess so.”  
“Well, Ron’s parents will be coming over soon and the first Order meeting will take place the day after tomorrow. A lot of people will be here, so I think we should attempt to make the kitchen inhabitable tomorrow. Or at least we should attempt to stop the plates biting people.”  
Sirius nodded his head slowly. “I guess we should do that. Do you want to stay here tonight?”  
Remus gaped. “Are you sure?”  
Sirius smiled. “It would be nice to get used to it with just you here. You make it okay.”  
Remus leant over and kissed Sirius softly. “Guess what?”  
“What?”  
“Harry’s coming for Christmas.”  
“Harry’s coming for Christmas?!” Sirius exclaimed, bolting up.  
“Yes, baby. They’re all coming for Christmas.”

———————————————————————

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Link to next fic will be in the next chapter xxx

**Author's Note:**

> I luuurve this chapter. It's only part one of two


End file.
